The BR Class 87 87305 Restoration Group have shared photos of the completed repaint of 87035.
It is now complete in Virgin Trains livery exactly as it was outshopped over 22 years ago. This repaint was a long time in the making and took a small team over 8 months to complete between March and November 2021.
The group say "With the state of the bodywork when we started the loco really has come along way and the group hope that this paint job will last a lot longer than the rest"
87035 joins a very small group of preserved locos repainted in a post-privatisation era livery. Permission from Virgin Group was granted for the branding.
It has not yet been refitted with its nameplates as it is due to be renamed ‘Robert Burns’ at a naming ceremony on January 25th next year. There is some involvement with Hornby model railways and details are yet to be confirmed.
All but one of the Class 87s were transferred to Virgin Trains who continued to operate them until the new Class 390 Pendolinos were introduced.
The locos were then used on various duties with other operators and a large proportion of the fleet was eventually exported to Bulgaria, where they have entered regular use once again.
